Day 10 Limassol
We arrived at Limassol around 8am to a rather grey morning.
Heavy clouds hung over the island, but fortunately Caryll and I were on a trip
to Larnaca and Lefkara, away from the worst weather and although it remained
overcast, it stayed dry. We boarded the coach and drove first to the Church of
Angeloktisti, traditionally believed to have been built by angels. It was a
beautiful 6th cent Byzantine church with stunning icons etc. A
service was just ending as we arrived – not just any service however, but a
visitation from the Bishop of Nicosia, who stopped to talk to our group and
bless us.
From there to the Hala Sultan Tekke mosque beside a salt lake filled
with flocks of flamingos. This is an Islamic shrine and the difference was huge
– a large mainly empty room with a floor covered with Persian style rugs. In
the back room was the tomb of the woman the shrine was dedicated too. I was
also able to get a good cat fix here, with several rushing up to be petted.
We
then travelled to Larnaca where we stopped at the Church of St Lazarus and then
had free time. Once again it was a Greek Orthodox Church, rich in colour and
atmosphere. It is built over the tomb of Lazarus and you can go down to see the
stone coffin under the present building.
Outside a choir was forming and as we
arrived sang We Wish You A Merry Christmas in English, before moving onto
Christmas carols and songs along with some Cypriot Antiphons. The whole
experience was magical. After a short wander around the centre of Larnaca and
the beach, we travelled to Lefkara – famous for lace embroidery and silverwork.
We enjoyed a light snack of pitta bread with Halloumi cheese before some retail
therapy – a silver ring set with rose quartz for me at a very reasonable 15
euros. Then back to the ship in time for the Christmas Sailaway party. We were
delayed in sailing for about an hour as there was something wrong with one of
the props, but all was resolved and we are now heading for Haifa.
Now the bad news! One
of the highlights of this cruise that I was really looking forward to was the
arrival of Santa from the Funnel! BUT, it is at 6pm tomorrow and we don’t get
back from our tour to Jerusalem until 8pm. GRRRRRR!
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